


When I First Saw You...

by JayWrites



Series: Love, Hurt, & Misery [1]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 08:45:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3113477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayWrites/pseuds/JayWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom and Cassie’s very first meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When I First Saw You...

**Author's Note:**

> So I decided to write Tom and Cassie’s first encounter. I was gonna make it a small blurb in one of the the upcoming chapters but I think it’s better as a one shot. It’s very long for a one shot. I apologize.

August 3, 2011 — 9:18pm David Walsh's Annual Mixer

Tom took a sip of his whiskey as absentmindedly scanned the surrounding partygoers. He had been in attendance only an hour now and had already exhausted all his energy. It was a well known fact that David Walsh’s annual mixer was the hot ticket that everyone—who’s _anyone_ (as the cliché goes)—was dying to attend. David Walsh was a powerful producer who could make or destroy careers with a simple flick of his wrist. Even celebs who hated the Hollywood social scene made rare appearances if they were blessed to receive an invite. The invitation list usually read like a Who’s Who of Hollywood’s current and soon-to-be hot persons. They were usually sent out months in advance in the form of golden tickets (just like in Charlie  & the Chocolate Factory).

Tom was more than surprised when he received his in June. He only been in one big studio film and he didn’t really think he would be invited to something so prestigious so soon; but it turned out that Walsh's son, Aaron, was a huge fan of _Thor_ and Tom’s Loki portrayal. The moment Tom and Chris Hemsworth, who had also been invited, arrived Aaron had been chatting with them non-stop. Whenever the conversation went dull, Aaron would then introduce them to some random partygoer—usually a female. Tom had expected the young women that were pushed on them to be more invested in Chris—and they were—but every now and again there would be a young woman who seemed to be utterly fascinated with him.

“I loved Loki! Oh my god…that scene in the vault with Odin! You cried. I cried,” they would say and Tom would smile and blush out of modesty. Tom found American women very interesting. For example, they loved to call him “handsome,” a term that had never really been used to describe him before. Cute? Sure. Charming? Most definitely. But handsome? In the last few months he had been called that so often that he just decided against arguing with the person bestowing the compliment on him. Especially when they looked like the buxom red head Aaron was currently introducing them to.

“Well, hello,” Tom said while eyeing the gorgeous woman’s freckled chest—her breasts looked as if they would pop out of her gown at any moment.

The woman giggled and responded, “Hi. I just love your accent!” That was another thing Tom loved about American women. For every one or two that were unimpressed with his accent there where at least four or five that would all but swoon at a simple “hello.” Sometimes, for the hell of it, he would become extra British. His favorite new pastime was finding a lover who would fall to her knees at any random phrase that he would whisper in their ear. Crumpet—swoon!—hob nob—swoon!—fish and chips—double swoon! He and Chris had more laughs about these incidents than they probably should have. (Even Chris had a few stories, before he married, where a girl would ask him to “speak Australian” to her and, at a loss for words, he would mumble out “Outback,” “dingo” or “kangaroo” during sex).

The redheaded woman was currently writing her phone number on the palm of Tom’s hand. This was the fifth number he’d gotten tonight. “Now you put that number to good use,” the woman said with a wink before throwing the pen back into her purse.

“Oh, I certainly will,” Tom looked at his palm and tried to make out the name in the woman’s squiggly handwriting, “Amber.” Amber gave him a kiss on the cheek before sauntering away. Tom admired the way her hips moved before she disappeared into the crowd. Chris’ heavy hands fell on Tom’s shoulders and shifted his attention. “Chris! Where were you? Look.” Tom showed Chris the number in his palm. “Her name’s Amber and her tits look like they might be my pillow for tonight.”

Chris gave him a hearty laugh. “Brother, do you ever fear that your dick might fall off one day?”

Tom laughed. “Now why would you say that? I’m just trying to have fun. Besides, I’m always safe.”

“Yeah. One day you’re going to fuck up and your dick is going to fall off in the shower and I’m going to laugh long and hard about it.”

Tom was unfazed by Chris’ comment but he said, “You’re a horrible, _horrible_ friend,” before laughing at the image that Chris had conjured in his mind.

The two men continued laughing and chatting until Aaron appeared again and introduced them to an old friend of his, Cooper. The four men held polite conversation until Aaron broke the formalities when he asked, “So, fellas, how’s the selection looking tonight?”

“Selection,” Cooper asked before downing the last of his glass of champagne and placing it on the waiting server’s tray before grabbing a fresh one.

“Of women,” Aaron clarified.

“Oh,” Cooper said before taking a sip of champagne. “Well, I tried to speak to a few women tonight and they were kind enough to politely turn me down so I wouldn’t be too embarrassed.” He laughed and the other men joined in. “In my defense,” he added, “they were _way_ out of my league anyway. What about you, big guy,” he asked Chris. “I’m sure you had a plethora of women throwing themselves at your feet.”

“Haha. There were a couple here or there but the ring turned most of them off.” Chris flashed the men his wedding ring.

Cooper let out a surprised “oh” due to not noticing it at first but Aaron grimaced at the sight of the silver band. “So you took the plunge, huh? Pity. A good looking guy like you was probably swimming in the pussy and you go and give that up for one pussy that’s going to get old in a couple of months. Pretty stupid if you ask me.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t ask you,” Chris replied through gritted teeth but Aaron didn’t hear him. He was too busy gulping the last of his liquor—unlike the other men he was drinking a glass of scotch—and rudely snapping his fingers at a server to get her attention.

Tom noticed Chris’ grip the stem of his glass begin to tighten out of agitation so he placed his hand on Chris’ shoulder and whispered, “Calm down. Calm down. He’s not worth losing your temper.”

“I know,” Chris replied before finishing his glass and placing it on the server’s tray in front of him. He wiped the sides of his mouth with his thumb and index before shoving his hands into the front of his pants and tensing his jaw to keep from saying anything that might affect his career later on. Both he and Tom exchanged glances with Cooper who managed to mouth out a “sorry” before being cut off by Aaron’s loud, slightly drunken voice.

“Alls I’m saying is… marriage is…a fucking nightmare! I would never do it again.” This was a lie. In exactly one year’s time he would be married to his third wife who would be six months pregnant at the time. A year from then, he would be divorced again. “Yep, there’s too much good pussy to pass up. Like this one.” He grabbed a tall brown skinned woman who was walking by and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Isn’t that right, baby?”

The woman didn’t bother to hide her annoyance. “Aaron,” she spoke with a Nigerian accent, ”I have repeatedly asked you to stop calling me ‘good pussy.’ It’s sexiest!”

“Oh like you fucking care! You’re a model! You’re paid to walk down the catwalk in your panties, for crissake!”

The model scoffed. “You are a pig and an asshole! I swear I don’t know why I put up with you!” She turned and walked back to a group of statuesque women standing and eyeing him down in a corner.

“Oh shit,” Aaron said before swallowing the last of his scotch. “Let me go fix this before the crows get their claws in her.” The three remaining men watched as Aaron made his way to the group of women—stopping only to drop his empty glass on a tray before picking up two fresh glasses of champagne.

Tom and Chris turned their attention back to Cooper who immediately offered up an apology and an explanation. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could say he’s not usually like this but that’s a lie. The gorgeous woman he just insulted is his on-again, off-again girlfriend; and the tall, surly blonde giving him the evil eye next to him is also his on-again, off-again girlfriend. Honestly, I think he’s pretty much fucked the entire group.”

“Wow,” Chris said as he returned his gaze back to Aaron and the surrounding group of women.

“Yep. Believe it or not he’s actually being really well behaved tonight. Usually by now he’s completely shitted and making black jokes that he claims I should only be ‘half offended by’ before he does something so embarrassing that his father stops talking to him for about a month or so.”

“Wow,” Chris repeated. “He’s an asshole.” Cooper nodded his head in agreement as he took another sip of his champagne.

“Why do you keep talking to him,” Tom asked. He finished his glass of champagne but didn’t take his eyes off Aaron who was now working whatever charm he managed to have that allowed him to woo beautiful women like the ones he was in the midst of.

“Because,” Cooper said with a shrug as he rubbed the small tuft of curly light brown hair that sat atop his head, “Our fathers are childhood friends. We practically grew up together. And because I love my father I tell myself I can put up with Aaron’s bullshit once or twice a year for his sake.” Tom and Chris nodded that they understood and continued to watch as Aaron was now kissing the tall brown skinned model as if they weren’t in public. Their faces soured as his hand moved from the small of her back to her small ass and grabbed it. “God…do you guys ever just… _hate_ someone so much?”

The three men laughed in reply to the question. They continued talking. Their conversation moved from their careers to sports to recent films they’ve seen. “Have you guys seen _Inopportune_ _Affairs_ yet,” Cooper asked before chewing on a hors d’oeuvre he grabbed from one of the many constantly rotating servers.

“I’ve heard about it but I haven’t gotten around to seeing it yet,” Tom said. “Is it really as good as they say?”

“Better,” Chris chimed in. “I took Elsa to see it last weekend. She loved it. Cried the whole time.”

“Really? Maybe I should give it a watch soon, eh?”

“Yep,” Cooper answered. “A friend insisted I put it at the top of my ‘to watch’ list. Wait… I think the writer might still be here,” he looked around the room. “I got to chat with her for a couple of minutes before Aaron pulled me away for something.” He was still looking for the writer but it was so hard to search properly due to the mass of bodies that flooded the penthouse.

“Wherever she’s at she’s probably surrounded by people.” Chris said. “She just won the Oscar back in February, didn’t she?”

“Yeah. For best screenplay. First time out, too,” Cooper said while still scanning the crowd.

“That’s impressive. Cooper, mate, are you still looking for her?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“When you see her you’ll know why.”

“Good looking, eh?”

“Very. Oh, wait, there she is!” Tom turned his focus to where Cooper was pointing. A couple of people had moved in front of the woman and Tom, not really concerned either way about seeing this woman, looked down at his glass of champagne. He brought the glass to his lips and was about to take a sip when the people parted and he saw her.

Cooper had grossly understated her attractiveness. She was gorgeous. Her dark brown complexion radiated in comparison to the light blue dress she was wearing. Her hear was pulled up in a messy bun but the light hanging overhead caught it and made the reddish hue of it stand out. The dress she was wearing seemed to be stitched onto her frame and he swallowed hard when she turned to the side and displayed how well the dress hugged her ample behind. She brushed a stray strand of her hair from her face and laughed; he longed to hear how it sounded.

“Goddamn,” Tom said finally after a long pause.

“Oh, shit,” Chris said with a roll of his eyes as he watched Tom stand enthralled with the woman.

“What,” Cooper asked.

“You just gave him a new obsession.”

Tom ignored Chris’ comment; he was still engrossed in the beautiful woman who was now politely smiling at one of the servers as she took a flute of champagne he offered her before returning her attention to the dark haired, olive skinned man standing next to her. She wrapped her arm in the crook of his and leaned into his ear and whispered something causing the man to laugh. “Who’s that with her,” Tom asked Cooper.

“That’s the director.”

“Are they dating?”

Cooper laughed at the question as if it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. “No. He’s gay.”

Tom continued to watch the display between the woman and the man. Now the man brought the woman’s hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. The woman laughed and playfully hit his chest before saying something. “Are you sure,” Tom asked while watching the display.

“Positive,” Cooper answered.

“What did you say her name was?”

“Oh, um…Shit! It was on the tip of my tongue.” Cooper closed his eyes as if that would help him remember the woman’s name. “Shit! I don’t remember. Something Grey or Greene. It’s a color.” Tom finally turned his attention back to Cooper and made a face. “Sorry. I’m a little buzzed. Wait! Aaron would know. He invited her I think.”

Cooper went to get Aaron who was still boldly standing in the midst of his model ex-girlfriends. Chris took the opportunity to lean over to Tom and say, “You’re not going to let this one go, are you?”

“Chris, brother, look at her.” Chris looked back at the woman who was now talking to a sandy brown skinned woman who had her dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. An older stout white man walked up to them and they politely smiled and shook his hand. Tom looked back at Chris. “There is no way I’m letting this one go,” he said with a coy smile.

Chris chuckled at his friend. “So do you think you’ll miss your dick when it falls off or…”

Tom gave an “ehehehehe” and was about to reply with a comeback but was interrupted by Cooper. “Her name’s Cassie Greene. She’s twenty-three and single. The director’s name is Charles Leonetti and the girl on the right is Daya Ramirez, also twenty-three and single. So are you going to make your move?”

“In a minute,” Tom replied. He watched and waited for the stout man to finish whatever conversation he was having with Cassie. When the man finally left to chase a tall, slender blonde, Tom loosened the button on his suit jacket, turned to Chris and Cooper and said, “Wish me luck, fellas,” before making his way toward Cassie.

Daya shook her head at Cassie popping another hors d’oeuvre into her mouth. “That’s like your fifth one. Aren’t you full yet?”

Cassie put her finger up to signify for Daya to give her a minute while she finished chewing and swallowing her food. “They’re appetizers! No one gets full off them.”

“Oh, yeah? Then why do they serve the sampler as a meal at Applebee’s,” Charlie asked before reaching for a quiche that was in Cassie’s hand earning him a hard swat on the back of his. “Ouch! Bitch!”

Cassie took a bite of the food he was reaching for. “You brought it on yourself, my dude. You know I don’t play with my food. Ooh! Stuffed shrimp!” She tapped the passing server on the shoulder to stop him and immediately began filling her napkin with the food on his tray.

“Cas, please,” Daya said, “You’re embarrassing us!”

“Oh, please. He don’t mind.” She turned to the server who was looking at her with an amused grin. “Do you mind if I steal all your shrimp, sir?”

“Not at all. Have at it. It’s just going to go bad if you don’t.”

“Thank you. See? Y’all over here worried about the wrong thing. Y’all should be worried about whether or not if I can fit all these shrimps into my purse or not.”

Charlie resisted busting out into a loud cackle as he watched Cassie maneuver the food into her small purse. Daya rolled her eyes and looked around at the other guests in fear that they might see them. “Cas, please,” she said in an angry whisper. “Stop being so damn ghetto. Stop acting so fucking poor and at least _pretend_ like you have some damn class.”

Cassie looked up from her purse. “D, you know I love you but…don’t ever call me ‘poor’ or ‘ghetto’ again. You have never been either one of those things. Anyway, when it’s late at night and both of y’all are starving because y’all over here playing like we ain’t had to choose between paying our utilities and buying edible food whose main ingredient isn’t ‘artificial flavoring,’ trust me, y’all gon be happy that I have these shrimps.”

“She’s got a point,” Charlie agreed. He stopped a passing server and grabbed a handful of whatever food was on her platter. ‘Here. Stuff these in there, too.” Daya rolled her eyes at both of them and walked away. “You should have brought a bigger purse,” he said as he continued to shove the food into her bag.

“I know,” Cassie replied with a laugh. “Go see if you can get any more quiches. They were delicious.” Charlie nodded and took off to find a server.

Cassie felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a throat clear from behind her. An accented voice asked, “Need some help?”

Cassie gingerly turned around and was met with two of the most brilliant blue eyes she had ever seen. “Um, no,” she said slightly annoyed at the man talking to her.

“Are you sure? I believe there is a fruit tray going around.”

She shut her eyes and gently shook her head. She was suddenly filled with great embarrassment. “Oh god…Do you think I could come out smelling like a rose if I just explained to everyone that I’m a starving actress-slash-writer?”

“Hmm…I don’t think so. But if all else fails you could just stuff them down your purse as well.” In spite of herself, Cassie laughed at his joke. Tom loved the sound of it. “You have a beautiful laugh.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Really? I never had anyone compliment my laugh before.”

“They should. It’s really infectious.”

Cassie smiled at the compliment. “Well aren’t you the charmer, Mr.—?”

“Hiddleston. Tom Hiddleston.” He extended his hand to her. She shook it. “And you’re Cassie Greene.”

She furrowed her brow. “I am. How did you know that?”

“Well…you did just win an Oscar for best screenplay.”

“Oh, right!" Cassie laughed at her forgetfulness. “I guess it still hasn’t sunk in after all these months.”

“Yeah. But you know,” Tom decided to try his luck and took a step forward, “I also asked around about you.”

“Did you now,” she asked incredulously. “And why would you ask about me?”

“Well, I couldn’t leave here without knowing who the gorgeous woman in the blue dress was.”

“You’re, uh, you’re laying it on kinda thick there, Mr. Hiddleston.”

“Please,” he grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “Call me ‘Tom.’” Their eyes locked and, for a moment, he got lost in hers. They were so dark brown that they seemed almost black. He had never seen eyes that dark before. He wished he could fall into them; drown in them even. His eyes fell to her plump lips. He wondered how they tasted. He wondered how every inch of her skin leading to that sweet spot between her thighs tasted. He wondered if she was a screamer. He wondered what it would be like to have her lips on his skin. He could almost feel his skin raising into tiny goose bumps with every imagined peck she delivered.

She opened her mouth to speak and shocked him when she let out a laugh. That was far from the responses he’d hoped she would give him. “I’m sorry,” she began while trying to fight back her giggles, “but what the fuck was that? Did you, like, go to the James Bond School of Spittin’ Game or something? ‘Hiddleston. Tom Hiddleston.’ Then the ‘call me Tom’ shit plus the hand kissing! Boy, stop!”

Tom’s eyes grew wide at her reaction. He looked back at Chris and saw that both he and Cooper where barely hiding their own laughter. “I mean, no offense,” Cassie continued causing Tom to focus his attention back on her, “but what was I supposed to do with that? Was I supposed to get swept up in your charm and good looks and take you home with me or some shit?”

Tom should have been upset. No. He should have been _furious_. Yet her laughter really was infectious and he found his fury subsiding as he gave into a laugh as well. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I think I could do better. I can’t embarrass myself any worse, can I?”

“No, you cannot," Cassie replied in a calmer tone. “But I don’t want you to waste your time. I’m not really looking for a boyfriend or a one-night stand or anything like that. Sorry.”

“What about an accomplice to help you with your food thievery? I could be… the Abu to your Aladdin.”

She gave a light chuckle at the reference. “As much as I would love to burst out into ‘One Jump Ahead’ or duet ‘A Whole New World’ with you, I already have an accomplice.” She pointed behind him and Tom turned to see Charlie walking towards them and wiping the side of his mouth with a napkin; his other hand was filled with oysters.

“I see,” Tom said in defeat.

“Cas! The oysters are to die for. They gotta be next on our hit list,” Charlie said. “Who’s this?”

“Um, Charles Leonetti, Tom Hiddleston. Tom, Charles.”

“Hello,” the men greeted one another in unison. “Cas,” Charlie exclaimed, “we can probably get a bag to take home if we beg the kitchen staff like Oliver Twist.”

“I can’t tell if that’s better or worse than cramming food down my purse.”

“Better," Charlie answered. “Bigger bags.”

Cassie chuckled at the comment and Tom gave a polite smile before saying, “Well, I should get back to my friends. I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one evening.”

“Yeah. Just so you know, Tom, it’s nothing personal. You seem like a really great guy it’s just…I’m at a different place in my life right now. And that place doesn’t have any seats at the boyfriend table. You understand.”

Tom’s eyes shifted from Cassie to Charlie—who wasn’t even trying to pretend as if he was not eavesdropping—before landing back on her. “Yeah. I-I get it. Maybe some other time.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Tom walked back towards Chris and Cooper. “Tough break, bro,” Chris said as he placed a hand on his dejected friend’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Tom replied with a heavy sigh. He looked back at Cassie who was now laughing again in conversation with Charlie. She turned and looked in Tom’s direction and their eyes met again. She gave him a tiny smile (causing Tom to give her one in return) before returning her gaze to Charlie.

Chris noticed the exchange. “Oh, shit. It’s not over, is it?”

With the smile still on his lips, Tom replied, “Not in the slightest, mate.”

_______________

Tom all but stalked her online profiles. He rented _Inopportune_ _Affairs_ (Chris was right; the movie was better than he expected) and Googled her Oscar acceptance speech (he nearly bawled like a baby at it) before finally landing on her Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter accounts. He took a quick peek into the archives of her Tumblr but, after finding out that she had the blog for a little over three years and figured that he would never be able to properly search it, decided to stick to her other two accounts.

He spent nearly an hour on her Instagram. The most recent picture was of her, Charlie, and Daya stuffing their faces with leftover food from last night’s mixer. The caption under it read: “‘I steal only what I can’t afford (and that’s everything!) #Aladdinflow #stolenfoodisthebestfood lol #onmypoorgirlshit”

He chuckled at the picture and the caption before moving on to her Twitter. Okay. He had to admit, maybe he _was_ stalking her. Never in his life had he begged for attention as desperately as he was right now. He debated for a moment or two on whether or not if he should follow or message her. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable and end up blocking him. He decided to risk it. He hit the “follow” button before sending her a message that read: “So you’re not looking for a BF or an accomplice. How about a friend?”

The moment he hit “enter” he regretted the message. However, there was nothing he could do. The ball was in her court now. She could either respond or ignore him. He rose from the couch he was sitting on and walked to the kitchen to prepare a sandwich. He had barely taken the bread out when he felt his cell buzz in his pocket. He removed it and smiled at the notification on the screen. He unlocked his phone and opened his Twitter app.

Cassie had responded with a simple: “I can always use a new friend. Especially one as cool as you, Mr. Bond.”


End file.
